The Anacostia River Trail begins in Cottage City, Maryland, at the split of the Anacostia River into its northeast and northwest branches. Those traveling south on either the Northeast Branch Trail or...

The Anacostia Tributary Trail System includes a number of trails linked together and managed by the National Park Service. The trail include: the Anacostia River Trail, the Northwest Branch Trail, the...

The 11-mile BWI Trail was primarily designed for area commuters; however, the trail also makes for a great recreation venue. Despite being close to BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, much of the trail is...

If you are looking to augment your physical workout with some intellectual exercise, look no further than the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail. The scenic, paved, 13-mile community trail is brimming with...

Black Hill Trail offers a wooded trek with gentle inclines through Black Hill Regional Park in Boyds, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. The trail is primarily paved, though a short section in...

The Blake Lane Sidepath runs for 3 miles, linking Oak Marr Park and Recreation Center with neighborhoods, Oakton High School and other parks. Most of the trail is concrete and the width of a standard...

The Bluemont Junction Trail is a short paved trail that branches off from the popular Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) in the heart of Arlington. The trail was built on a spur line that once...

The Burke Lake Loop Trail offers a nearly 5-mile route for a pleasant walk or bike, while enjoying the beautiful scenery around Burke Lake in Fairfax. Since the Burke Lake Loop Trail is within Burke...

Detour notice: As of Sept. 5, 2017, a 3.5-mile section between Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda and Talbot Avenue in Silver Spring at the northeastern tip of the Capital Crescent Trail (also known as the...

The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (a.k.a. C&O Canal Towpath) follows the route of the Potomac River for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland....

Between 1900 and 1935, the Chesapeake Beach Railway whisked vacationers from Washington, DC, to the grand hotels, beaches and boardwalk of the resort town of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Now tourists...

Maryland's Cross Island Trail spans Kent Island, east to west, in Queen Anne's County, providing multiple points of access to everything from libraries and schools to ball fields and the waterfront....

Downs Park Trail is located in Downs Park on the Chesapeake Bay just north of Gibson Island. The 3.5-mile perimeter trail is paved, popular for walkers and cyclists alike, and an additional 1.5 miles...

Although it parallels Eisenhower Avenue, this paved pathway is not without its charms. On its west end, Alexandria's Eisenhower Avenue Trail begins in Hensley Park, which offers plentiful parking and...

The Fairfax County Parkway Trail parallels Fairfax County Parkway/State Route 286 on its route across Fairfax County, Virginia. While the paved trail varies in width and condition, most of the trail...

The Gwynns Falls Trail is a 19-mile continuous corridor connecting dozens of west and southwest Baltimore neighborhoods with parks, historical and cultural landmarks and the urban business district....

Baltimore’s Herring Run Trail runs through scenic Herring Run Park, centered on a tributary of the Back River. The winding trail follows Herring Run through a woodlands environment so peaceful you're...

The Holmes Run Trail offers a scenic pathway through the heart of a busy residential area in Alexandria and adjoining Fairfax County, both suburbs of Washington, D.C. The trail, which is divided into...

Maryland's Intercounty Connector Trail serves as an important commuting route across Montgomery County and Prince George's County. It gets its name from the Intercounty Connector (also known as State...

The Kent Island South Trail is one of two popular recreational trails (along with the Cross Island Trail) on Maryland's Kent Island, the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay. The trail runs parallel...

The Lake Mercer Loop Trail wraps around Lake Mercer in Fairfax and is slightly over five miles in length. From the Lake Mercer Loop Trail you can hop on to the South Run Trail, or the Burke Lake Loop...

The Long Branch Trail is a neighborhood trail tracing the Long Branch Creek beginning at its confluence with Sligo Creek in Takoma Park, to Piney Branch Road in Long Branch. The trail is an easy ride:...

Opened in 2009, the short Lord Fairfax Community College Connector Trail extends from the parking lot of the junior college to its temporary endpoint in a scenic wildlife area. Eventually, an extended...

The MA & PA Heritage Trail is found in two segments (about 2 miles apart) through the wooded parks of Maryland's Bel Air and Forest Hill communities. The folksy sounding name actually stands for the...

The Matthew Henson Trail runs along a paved surface (rough in places from tree roots) through a narrow band of forested green space between the Rock Creek Trail just south of Veirs Road and Alderton...

Following the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Metropolitan Branch rail line, the Met Branch Trail is a busy urban rail-with-trail that shares a corridor with Metro's Red Line, MARC commuter...

The 3-mile separated multi-use path along Middletown Road allows for safe recreation and transportation along the western side of Waldorf, Maryland. The trail begins just south of State Route 228 and...

The Mount Airy Rail-Trail will one day span nearly 4 miles across the town of Mount Airy and through a scenic, wooded area. The first completed section of the trail covers a half mile and is surfaced...

The 18-mile Mount Vernon Trail is one of the Washington, D.C. Metro area's most popular trails. Just across the Potomac River from D.C. in Virginia, the trail links Theodore Roosevelt Island Park with...

The Northeast Branch Trail follows the levee along theyou guessed itNortheast Branch of the Anacostia River from the Lake Artemesia Natural Area to Baltimore Avenue/US 1 (south of Hyattsville). The...

The Northwest Branch Trail—an integral part of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System—runs between the Maryland towns of Hyattsville and Silver Spring, linking two bustling suburbs of Washington, D.C....

Annapolis' Poplar Trail runs for nearly 1 mile on a section of the old Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis right-of-way in the heart of Maryland's capital city. Although short, the trail is a vital part...

Providing an important urban link between the Crystal City area of Arlington and the western edge of historical Alexandria, the Potomac Yard Trail is a huge boon to the area for commuting as well as...

The Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail provides a safe pathway for students, from kindergartners to doctoral candidates, to walk and bike to school in College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville. The...

Located in the northwest section of Washington, D.C., Rock Creek Park is the oldest and largest urban park in the national park system. Established in 1890, Rock Creek offers more than 1,700 acres of...

Rock Creek Trail forms a winding path, at times narrow, through the urban greenway of Rock Creek Regional Park. The trail extends between Needwood Lake northeast of Rockville, MD, and the Washington,...

Rocky Run Stream Valley Trail is part of the countywide trail system. This trail runs from the Fairfax County Parkway to Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. The distance along the trail from the Parkway to the...

The Savage Mill Trail in Savage Park travels along the rolling Patuxent River through the grounds of an old cotton mill. In the early 1800s, Savage was a major manufacturing center, harnessing power...

The Sligo Creek Trail parallels the eponymous waterway from its confluence with the Northwest Branch in Hyattsville to just north of its origin in Wheaton in Montgomery County. Along the way, a number...

Baltimore’s Stony Run Trail follows an old Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line through nearly 3 miles of wooded stream valleys and small parks, providing a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle...

The Strawberry Lake Way Bicycle Path is a 2.2 mile trail that is located between Laurel and Annapolis in Anne Arundel County Maryland. The trail starts at Piney Orchard Elementary School, and ends at...

The Stringfellow Road Sidepath runs for three miles through Chantilly and Centreville in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County. The asphalt and concrete trail connects multiple neighborhoods to various...

The Sudley Manor Drive Trail runs parallel to the southern 4.5 miles of its namesake road in western Prince William County. The trail services a number of the surrounding communities, such as Bristow...

The first thing you may notice about the Trolly Line #9 Trail is the boardwalk that curves between the bluffs of massive rock. The granite was hand cut in the 1890s when the electric streetcar rails...

The Unfinished Railroad Loop Trail is a short hiking trail within Manassas National Battlefield Park. The rail-trail runs on a corridor planned in the mid-19th century as a complement to the Manassas...

The West Campus Access Road Trail, the newest rail-trail in Washington, D.C., travels through the sprawling former campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, now set to become the new home of the Department...

Recent Trail Reviews

Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail

Exceeded Expectations

This trail feels more like an interpretive nature trail than a rail trail. There are many signs and exhibits explaining the surrounding nature and heritage. There are also many "pullouts" and benches meant for stopping to take in the sights, sounds, and aromas. It seems a great place for a walk or an easy hike. Although the surfaces are just fine for biking (slowly), I would not recommend biking this trail (as I did) because it's too short for much of a ride, and there are too many places you'll want to stop and look around.

Cross County Trail (VA)

Fun, but definitely need at least a hybrid

This describes the first 7 miles of the trail from the south. I started at Occoquan Regional Park (more on this later), so traveled about 1.5 mi (all steeply uphill) before actually getting to the southern terminus of the CCT. I have to say that the trail is not well marked. Note that as you fly down Workhouse Rd the trail secretly takes a right without much signage. Also, as has been noted in previous reviews, the path through the prison area was very confusing, again due to lack of signage. After the prison, the trail continues with asphalt - thanks to the person who spray painted directional signals on the asphalt where users must make turns. I had fun crossing the creek several times. With the water level I dismounted only once. Otherwise plowed through the water like a kid! Not long after crossing Pohick Rd (approx 1.5 mi) the trail turned from asphalt to dirt/rocks. Encountered a newly fallen (I swear based on the fresh smell of the leaves and branches that it had fallen the night before) tree that required some nifty maneuvering. I continued on this for a bit, then decided to turn around. Will explore more of the trail later.

But, while parking at Occoquan Regional Park required a 1.5 mile uphill at the start, it provides a 1.5 mile downhill at the end. Plus, and this is the real bonus, you can coast right down to the Brickmaker’s Cafe and have a beer or two before you head out. I recommend the Port City Porter.

Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park (W&OD)

Lovely trail

Last week I rode from Leesburg to Falls Church on the WO&D -- it's a great trail with long flat segments and rolling hills, going through woods and fields all the way to Tysons and Vienna. Be aware that some of the intersections are dangerous, and toward the western, more rural end, many cars don't even bother stopping. But the trail is well-maintained with many opportunities for stopping (but very few of them with bathrooms, unfortunately).

Capital Crescent Trail

Charming trail

I rode this from the entrance off K Street (under the Whitehurst Bridge) up to Bethesda, where work on the Purple Line interrupts it. It's a charming trail, well-maintained though somewhat narrow and overgrown-feeling in places. It winds along the river, has some bridges and tunnels, and offers some great views of the C&O towpath. The only negatives: the trafficking entrance to the trail, and the dank-smelling river at the beginning.

Kent Island South Trail

Beautiful Day

We made a day trip to Kent Island. Drove down to the southern end of trail first at Romancoke pier but it appeared you have to pay for parking. I think that covers the entrance or usage fee so we turned around to check the other end up by Matapeake park and visited the dog beach. No cost to park up there so we played on the beach before our ride. The trail was well marked and exactly as described by other reviewers. The weather was beautiful and we had a nice day but the trail was a bit lacking in terms of view. However it was relatively flat so that more than made up for it. We only rode a couple of miles before heading back so we could grab lunch then shop before returning home. Overall a very decent trail.

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park

Absolutely terrible and unsafe

Towpath is nearly impassable from lack of basic maintenance over the past 20 years. Mud in places is over 8" deep. The tunnel has trees growing out of its face and the boardwalk has holes rotted through in many places. Such a shame that America can't maintain a simple bike path.

Matthew Henson Trail

Overall very good

Well maintained Matthew Henson Trail winds through the woods with a LOT of wooden bridges, some of which are very long. The trail crosses some pretty significant intersections - use CAUTION when crossing. Trail has smooth, well maintained surface and is good width for cycling. The many bridges, intersections, and winding nature of the path make it slow going. Shaded by trees and runs alongside a creek so nice ride overall.

Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail

feel the fear and do it anyway - lost in Delaware or Maryland

I must admit, I went up to the Virginia/DC area excited to ride the trails. I thought I was going North on the mt vernon trail. I asked the park workers how I got to the bridge, and they pointed me upwards. The bridge was the subject of the show modern marvels of engineering. I got a little bit of Vertigo looking down over the edge. It was much easier coming back on it the second time. Huge bridge. ..giant steel trusses, it just didnt take me to DC, where I thought I was going. I cycled to the national harbor and got two bottles of water from the CVS, and a fruit smoothie from a local deli.

Baltimore and Annapolis Trail

Nice easy ride for greater miles

My husband and I decided to check this trail out (without our kids) so we could come back more informed. We found plenty of parking at nearby Sawmill Creek Park where there is a connector trail to access. On a summer Sunday it was busy, but we were able to move at our pace and enjoy 9 miles of the 13 before turning back to the beginning. The trail is paved and while we encountered one rough section, there were signs indicating a re-paving effort underway. An easy ride, there was lots to see and the interesting bridges that took us over roadways and streams were fun. Lots of families using sections of the trail accessing them by small connecting trails to neighborhoods. The trail was nicely marked with cross street signs and information at popular access points. We found a great pit stop near Riggs AVe.; a shopping Center with a bike shop, pizza/sub place, creperie, frozen yogurt shop, coffee shop and steak sub place. Something for every hungry biker and lots of racks for bikes. Every shop welcomed riders to refill water. Our first 18 mile ride; certainly won't be our last here.

Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail

Beautiful Scenery, rough trail surface

Now that the restaurant in Monkton is open, with a delicious healthy menu, my wife and I try to ride this trail once or twice a month. We would ride it more often but its an hour and 45 minute drive to New Freedom just to get to the trail. The scenery is great as the trail follows a creek that is 1 to 2 feet wide near New Freedom and grows to 20 to 30 feet wide by the time you reach Cockeysville. We have seen lots of wildlife including a red fox. The trail surface is in dire need of improvement. Almost as soon as you cross from PA into MD you notice the difference, from a wide path smooth from edge to edge to a rougher surface with lots of pot holes. If you ride a recumbent trike you're in for a rough ride as much of the trail is two single tracks. The transitions from trail to bridges and at road crossings are also very rough.